As geopolitical tensions continue to rise in the North Atlantic, the UK has conducted the first flight of a fully autonomous, full‑size helicopter, marking a significant step in the Royal Navy’s move toward integrating uncrewed aircraft into future operations.
The aircraft, called Proteus, after the Greek god of the sea, was developed by Leonardo under a four-year £60 million program in partnership with the UK Ministry of Defense’s Defense Equipment and Support (DE&S) Future Capabilities Innovation and the Royal Navy.
The Royal Navy said that the helicopter “has been designed and built by Leonardo as a demonstrator for the Royal Navy, to unlock the potential of uncrewed aerial systems.”
Proteus completed extensive ground trials in recent weeks before lifting off for the first time from Predannack airfield in Cornwall, a satellite site of RNAS Culdrose and the UK’s National Drone Hub, with representatives from Leonardo, the Royal Navy, and UK Defense Innovation observing.
Tensions vs technology
In place of the crew in the cockpit/cabin, Leonardo fitted the three-ton uncrewed rotorcraft platform with sensors and computer systems driven by cutting-edge software, enabling Proteus to understand and process its environment, make decisions, and act in real time.
Its design features a modular payload bay that enables mission flexibility, including the ability to trade fuel for mission payloads providing a range of options to commanders in the field.
The defense giant said in January 2025 that the company had created a “digital twin” of the platform’s technology to help in its development. Using that digital twin, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms, the company was able to test, modify and prove certain capabilities without needing any live trials.
It is also looking into using new digital manufacturing technologies to further reduce production costs such as 3D printing and composite materials.
The UK Royal Navy said in a statement that the autonomous helicopter is intended to support the Royal Navy’s Strategic Defense Review plan for a “new hybrid navy,” with uncrewed helicopters “playing a central role in future ‘hybrid air wings’ and potentially at the heart of future anti-submarine operations, as part of the Atlantic Bastion program to secure the North Atlantic."
Tensions in the North Atlantic over Greenland have escalated sharply in recent months, driven by aggressive rhetoric by US President Donald Trump about greater control of the country. European NATO nations have put up a firm resistance to Trump, including sending military forces. There are also growing concerns about Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic, especially around Greenland and the Scandinavian nations, which has turned the area into a focal point of great‑power competition and an unexpected stress test for NATO unity and weaponry.
While the Royal Navy already employs smaller drones, including Malloy octocopters and the Peregrine surveillance helicopter, Proteus is significantly larger and more advanced. Such aircrafts capable of executing complex missions without a pilot onboard reduce risk to personnel and expand operational reach, especially in environments where crewed aircraft may be vulnerable.
Leonardo says that the platform “forms a key pillar of the Royal Navy’s Maritime Aviation Transformation (MAT X) strategy to utilize uncrewed systems where possible and crewed platforms where necessary, build mass at sea, and support anti-submarine warfare missions.”
Competition in the skies
While the Royal Navy said that “British aviation history has been made” with “one of the world’s first full-sized autonomous helicopters,” in October, Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, unveiled its first fully autonomous helicopter, the S-70 U-Hawk, a fully autonomous version of the legendary Black Hawk UH-60L, having turned the legacy platform into an unmanned aerial system.
The U-Hawk is based on the UH-60A Black Hawk airframe and like the helicopter, the S-70 variant retains the ability to load cargo from the side door and externally lift 9,000 pounds (4,080 kg.) using its cargo hook. But Sikorsky removed the cockpit, seats and crew stations from the aircraft and outfitted it with MATRIX autonomy technology.
According to a Royal Navy spokesperson quoted by Business Insider, Proteus is "a one-off prototype/demonstrator," and "the Navy and Leonardo will use it for trials and experimentation, but it's not a production-line machine for everyday usage."